


One is the Loneliest Number

by caladaac



Category: Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Language, F/M, Romance, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:49:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25995508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caladaac/pseuds/caladaac
Summary: Karalai Lorred went from smuggling spices to protecting Jedi in a matter of weeks. Not that she's all too keen about that. Now that the whole Sith Empire is looking for her and crew, Karalai's got a lot more on her plate than she ever thought she would.
Relationships: Carth Onasi/Female Revan
Kudos: 3





	One is the Loneliest Number

Blaring alarms is how Karalai Lorred woke up for the 3rd night in a row. Her head was pounding. She had barely fallen asleep, and the Endar Spire was practicing  _ yet another _ drill? How many times did it take for these damn soldiers to get the protocol through their heads?

As Karalai stood, a tall, blond man marched through the door. “We've been ambushed by a Sith battle fleet!” he announced. “The Endar Spire is under attack! Hurry up – we don't have much time!”

Karalai looked him up and down with hesitation. “Sorry, who are you?”

He had minimal emotion in reaction to her inquiry. “I'm Trask Ulgo, ensign with the Republic Fleet. I'm your bunkmate here on the Endar Spire. We work opposite shifts; I guess that's why you haven't seen me before.” 

As she thought about it, she had noticed that her bunkmate was a man. It wasn’t uncommon in her line of work; there weren’t many women in her position. Before she had time to respond, Trask added, “Now hurry up, we have to find Bastila! We have to make sure she makes it off the ship alive!”

“Forget it,” Karalai said, tying her black, shoulder-length hair into a small bun at the base of her neck as she turned to the footlocker at the base of her bed to grab her equipment. “I'm looking after my own skin!”

Trask huffed and followed her to the other side of the room. “You swore an oath to protect Bastila when you signed up with this mission, just like everyone else in the crew!” he lectured as Karalai changed into some basic armor, which hung loosely from her small frame, and grabbed a short-sword. “Now it's time to make good on that oath! I know she may not have an official rank in the fleet, but she's the one in charge of this mission and it's our duty to protect her!”

Karalai ignored him and walked toward the door. She wasn’t going to waste any more time on this hunk of junk than she needed to. Her head was pounding as she thought of the ship being attacked. Anxiety boiled up in her chest, a feeling that she pushed away as well as she could. 

As she approached the door, Trask put a hand on her shoulder. “Look, I know all about your reputation, how you used to smuggle spice and blasters along the Corellian Run. I guess the Republic figured since they couldn't catch you, they might as well hire you.” He looked a bit frustrated as he spoke. He had the slightest look of distaste flicker across his face. It was just enough for Karalai to notice it.

“And I'll admit,” he continued, “the Republic is in desperate need of someone with your kind of skills. Desperate enough to overlook your... shady past. But now that you've signed on for this mission you're part of the Republic fleet. And Bastila needs all troops at her side during this attack!

Karalai shook her head. “Oath or no oath – I'm heading to the escape pods!”

“Don't be stupid!” Trask exclaimed. “You won't stand a chance against the Sith by yourself. We've got to stick together if we want to make it out of this alive.”

Despite her every instinct telling her otherwise, Karalai gestured in front of her for Trask to take the lead.

He sighed a breath of relief. “Okay, let's move out. We should stick together; you'll have more success with a party than on your own.”

Trask led her into the hall where they were almost immediately bombarded with blaster fire. Despite her frustration with her newly acquired companion, Karalai was grateful to have him on her side. She pressed her back against the wall as shots flew by with a deafening sound.

“These Sith must be the advance boarding party!” Trask hissed to her. He readied his weapon before launching into action. “For the Republic!” he yelled, firing his blaster at the Sith.

Karalai sucked in a deep breath and then pushed off the wall, her legs running as fast as they could carry her. She dodged the blaster shots and slashed her short sword at one of her foes. Before long, she and Trask were victorious. Karalai blew some stray hairs out of her eyes as she sheathed her weapon.

“I've got a feeling that won't be our last battle with the Sith,” Trask warned, tossing Karalai a medpac. “Just in case.” 

Karalai nodded and stuffed it in her travelling pack. The two continued to make their way to the bridge. As they grew closer, Karalai heard the tell-tale signs of lightsaber combat. The door in front of them slid open, and she drew her sword, prepared to fight.

Trask put his arm in her way to stop her. “It's a dark Jedi! This fight is too much for us – we better stay back. All we'll do is get in the way.”  
Karalai gave him a sour look, but obeyed his orders. She watched as the Jedi dueled. By the end, neither lived. It was a grim outcome, but expected. “That was one of the Jedi accompanying Bastila,” Trask explained. “Damn, we could have used her help!”

As more Sith rounded the corner, Karalai was reminded of the reality that life moves around you whether you live or die. She and Trask didn’t have the time to mourn the loss of the Jedi. Quite frankly, she had her own ass to save. She stepped over the body unceremoniously, as death often tended to be.

As they rounded the corner, Trask looked at Karalai. “The bridge is just beyond that door.”

Karalai nodded. “Hopefully no lightsabers on the other side,” she said, tightening her grip on her short sword.

“Your melee weapon is made using a cortosis weave,” Trask explained. “It's strong enough to stand up against anything, even a lightsaber.”

“Yeah,” Karalai agreed. “But that doesn’t mean I want to see one.”

Trask looked grimly at her. “Can’t fault you for that.” He readied his own sword and began walking toward the door. “Let’s go, soldier.”

As the door opened, blaster shots zoomed past Karalai’s head. She barely processed them as she lept into action, diving over consoles and running towards the Sith. She cut them down without hesitation. The faster they got to that Bastila chick, the faster this shit would all be over.

As the last Sith fell to the floor, Karalai turned to Trask. “Bastila's not on the bridge,” he noted. “They must have retreated to the escape pods! We better head that way too.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Karalai said with a small chuckle. Trask, on the other hand, did not seem to find her joke all that amusing. He ignored her, and instead began to work on unlocking the doors.

“The Sith want Bastila alive, but once she's off the ship there's nothing stopping them from blasting the Endar Spire into galactic dust!” he added as the door popped open. “Ready?” he asked.

Karalai nodded. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

They hadn’t walked much further before they reached the Starboard Section. Karalai walked toward the Starboard Section, but Trask continued past it to another door.

“There's something behind here...” he whispered.

Karalai frowned. “Just leave it. We have to get out of here!”

Before either could do anything, the door opened, revealing a hooded man in dark robes who ignited a glowing red lightsaber. Karalai took a step back, but Trask stepped forward. “Damn – another Dark Jedi! I'll try to hold him off, you get to the escape pods! Go!” With that, Trask ran into the room with the Jedi. Karalai tried to run after him, but the control panel popped, sparking a small fire.

“You dumb bitch,” she whispered. But that was war. She sighed and turned away. Time to go to the escape pods. Time to forget all about Trask Ulgo and make it out of here alive.

\---

Karalai had barely made it through the next door when she heard a brief static before a man’s voice was playing over her headset. “This is Carth Onasi on your personal communicator. I'm tracking your position through the Endar Spire's life support systems. Bastila's escape pod is away – you're the last surviving crew member of the Endar Spire! I can't wait for you much longer; you have to get to the escape pods! But be careful.”

The man’s voice was calm, but firm. Karalai could tell this Carth guy had her back and was not intent on leaving her behind. She took in a sharp breath, then let it all out slowly. “Let’s go, Kara,” she whispered, hyping herself up.

She continued through the halls, near silently. As she walked, her eyes scanned for Sith. Suddenly, her headset came to life. “There's a Sith patrol just down the corridor,” Carth noted, as if he had been reading her mind.

Heeding his words, Karalai flipped on her stealth generator and walked silently past. She even held her breath as she came close to the Sith Trooper. This was  _ not _ how she had planned to die, and she sure as hell was not about to let herself die on this hunk of junk.

After passing through, she came across a room containing two Sith. She stayed cloaked, figuring she could just sneak past them. But as she moved toward the door, she heard Carth once again.

“Be careful!” he warned. “There's a whole squad of Sith Troopers on the other side of that door! You need to find some way to thin their numbers. You could reprogram the damaged assault droid to help you, if you have enough repair parts. Or you could use computer spikes to slice into the terminal and use the Endar Spire's security systems against the Sith.”

Karalai was never one for computers, so she ran straight for the droid. She operated as silently as she could as the two Sith made small talk. It only took a few moments before the droid sprang to life, instantly taking out the Sith she had snuck past.

As blaster fire erupted, the Sith on the other side of the door came running through. Each Trooper was shot down, one after the other. Once they were all dead, Karalai proceeded through the door to see a burly man in an orange jacket, which had a rather loud color for a soldier to be wearing. 

Before she uncloaked, he turned to her with a familiar voice. “You made it just in time! There's only one active escape pod left. Come on, we can hide out on the planet below!”

Karalai eyed the man, who she presumed was the Carth Onasi who had been communicating with her. “How do I know I can trust you?” she asked skeptically. As she did so, the Endar Spire shook vigorously as the ship was fired at.

Carth, however, looked unfazed. “:I'm a soldier with the Republic, like you,” he said in a calm, soothing voice. “We’re the last two crew members left on the Endar Spire. Bastila's escape pod's already gone, so there's no reason for us to stick around here and get shot by the Sith. Now come on – there'll be time for questions later!”

He gestured to the escape pod, waiting for Karalai to take the lead. She stood for a moment, the alarms blaring in her ears as she contemplated whether she should use the escape pod or not. It didn’t take long for her to come to the conclusion that it was her only option.

She got into the pod, followed by Onasi, who shut the door behind him and activated the escape pod. As suddenly as it launched, Karalai felt something slam against her head. Everything fell dark.


End file.
